Revue de Theatre: 'Waiting In The Wings’

Le Petit delivers drama with the laughs in Noel Coward’s look at aging with dignity

By JACKIE JACKSON For The Courier

Published: Thursday, March 8, 2007 at 8:58 a.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, March 8, 2007 at 11:10 a.m.

Congratulations to Le Petit for having the courage to dip back into the past for a drama that is more than an evening of laughter. Noël Coward’s play about retired actresses in England, "Waiting in the Wings," although it has its healthy dose of laughter, faces some of the tough questions we all must eventually face: How do we deal with loneliness? How do we negotiate for what we want when we have little power left us? How to we face declining mental and physical health? How do we grasp joy out of the heavy sameness of days? How do we deal with forgiveness? And how do we manage a graceful exit?

Director Edwina Yakupzack takes on a cast of 17 characters, each with his/her own personality and foibles, and melds a fine statement of humanity and a gratifying evening of entertainment out of them.

The possibilities for ego clashes are limitless in a retirement home for actresses, and we soon see the range of temperaments: As pessimistic, sarcastic Cora, Pat Hornsby Crochet has some of the best lines in the play, and she makes the most of them. Jeanne Scott gives us a hearty Irish version of "the foreigner" Deirdre O’Malley (although she is sometimes a Deirdre of the Sorrows). Gayle McDonald Walters debuts as the eager ("once a ham, always a ham") Bonita, and Linda Schexnayder engenders chuckles as the weepy Estelle Craven. Donald Theriot gives us the faithful Osgood Meeker, who arrives every week with a bouquet of violets for a bedridden old actress he’s admired since his youth.

The play opens with present residents of the retirement home (The Wings) discussing the expected arrival of a new member. When it slips out (thanks to Cora) that the new arrival is Lotta Bainbridge, an old enemy of May Davenport’s, tension builds. Though May insists that there has been only a "conspiracy of silence" for 30 years, and Lotta arrives with "armloads of olive branches," the audience is sure the confrontation is coming.

Linda Wilson Stone as Dora bids goodbye to her employer of many years Lotta with lamenting and tears, handling both like an old-timer on stage rather than a first-timer. We begin to sense how far down Lotta has come when Dora says she doesn’t want to leave her in this "poorhouse."

Ouida Best (May) lends her dignity and injured quietness to a character who could have become disliked for her rigidity. Jeanne Caldarera garners approval and applause in her elegant portrayal of Lotta. Their sniping builds to a climax while the audience is hooked on two other story lines.

The residents of The Wings have been hankering for a sunroom to warm their old bones on cold winter days. They are aided in this enterprise by the two local administrators, the secretary, Perry Lascoe (enthusiastically brought to life by Michael Brossette, a Katrina transplant), who copes with "all the old shadows," and Sylvia Archibald, or Archie, tough but sympathetic. Donna Benda in the role gives us equal doses of the retired colonel -- "No. 1 Rule: No Pets" -- and the caring nurse -- "old dear" -- both delightful.

When the unsympathetic board led by actress Bootie Nethersole blocks the acquisition of the sunroom, Perry brings in his big guns in the form of a reporter for the Clarion, Zelda Fenwick. Jillian Vedros expertly handles the changing character ("I’m always in a professional capacity") snooping after a good story of the residents’ unhappiness or clashes. Though Deirdre assures her that they are all "as happy as can be when the tide of life has turned and we’re waiting to die," and Lotta appeals to her by saying they all want "to be remembered as we were and not as we are," Zelda digs deeper for her story, leading to the distinct possibility of Perry and Archie’s getting the sack. Deirdre delivers the devil’s curse and Lotta deems this "an error in taste."

The third story line involves Sarita Myrtle, stage actress supreme in her supreme dotage. Robyn Hornsby creates a Sarita who is graceful, who mixes past script lines with present realities, and who is delighted by everything (especially matches!) except her cold bedroom. It is Sarita who teaches us the graceful exit. When we leave the theater, it is with the memory not of "defeated, miserable old crones" but of beauty taking a final bow.

Jackie W. Jackson, an English instructor at Nicholls State University, has been involved with writing and drama for 30 years.

<p>Congratulations to Le Petit for having the courage to dip back into the past for a drama that is more than an evening of laughter. Noël Coward’s play about retired actresses in England, "Waiting in the Wings," although it has its healthy dose of laughter, faces some of the tough questions we all must eventually face: How do we deal with loneliness? How do we negotiate for what we want when we have little power left us? How to we face declining mental and physical health? How do we grasp joy out of the heavy sameness of days? How do we deal with forgiveness? And how do we manage a graceful exit?</p><p>Director Edwina Yakupzack takes on a cast of 17 characters, each with his/her own personality and foibles, and melds a fine statement of humanity and a gratifying evening of entertainment out of them.</p><p>The possibilities for ego clashes are limitless in a retirement home for actresses, and we soon see the range of temperaments: As pessimistic, sarcastic Cora, Pat Hornsby Crochet has some of the best lines in the play, and she makes the most of them. Jeanne Scott gives us a hearty Irish version of "the foreigner" Deirdre O’Malley (although she is sometimes a Deirdre of the Sorrows). Gayle McDonald Walters debuts as the eager ("once a ham, always a ham") Bonita, and Linda Schexnayder engenders chuckles as the weepy Estelle Craven. Donald Theriot gives us the faithful Osgood Meeker, who arrives every week with a bouquet of violets for a bedridden old actress he’s admired since his youth.</p><p>The play opens with present residents of the retirement home (The Wings) discussing the expected arrival of a new member. When it slips out (thanks to Cora) that the new arrival is Lotta Bainbridge, an old enemy of May Davenport’s, tension builds. Though May insists that there has been only a "conspiracy of silence" for 30 years, and Lotta arrives with "armloads of olive branches," the audience is sure the confrontation is coming.</p><p>Linda Wilson Stone as Dora bids goodbye to her employer of many years Lotta with lamenting and tears, handling both like an old-timer on stage rather than a first-timer. We begin to sense how far down Lotta has come when Dora says she doesn’t want to leave her in this "poorhouse."</p><p>Ouida Best (May) lends her dignity and injured quietness to a character who could have become disliked for her rigidity. Jeanne Caldarera garners approval and applause in her elegant portrayal of Lotta. Their sniping builds to a climax while the audience is hooked on two other story lines.</p><p>The residents of The Wings have been hankering for a sunroom to warm their old bones on cold winter days. They are aided in this enterprise by the two local administrators, the secretary, Perry Lascoe (enthusiastically brought to life by Michael Brossette, a Katrina transplant), who copes with "all the old shadows," and Sylvia Archibald, or Archie, tough but sympathetic. Donna Benda in the role gives us equal doses of the retired colonel -- "No. 1 Rule: No Pets" -- and the caring nurse -- "old dear" -- both delightful.</p><p>When the unsympathetic board led by actress Bootie Nethersole blocks the acquisition of the sunroom, Perry brings in his big guns in the form of a reporter for the Clarion, Zelda Fenwick. Jillian Vedros expertly handles the changing character ("I’m always in a professional capacity") snooping after a good story of the residents’ unhappiness or clashes. Though Deirdre assures her that they are all "as happy as can be when the tide of life has turned and we’re waiting to die," and Lotta appeals to her by saying they all want "to be remembered as we were and not as we are," Zelda digs deeper for her story, leading to the distinct possibility of Perry and Archie’s getting the sack. Deirdre delivers the devil’s curse and Lotta deems this "an error in taste."</p><p>The third story line involves Sarita Myrtle, stage actress supreme in her supreme dotage. Robyn Hornsby creates a Sarita who is graceful, who mixes past script lines with present realities, and who is delighted by everything (especially matches!) except her cold bedroom. It is Sarita who teaches us the graceful exit. When we leave the theater, it is with the memory not of "defeated, miserable old crones" but of beauty taking a final bow.</p><p>Jackie W. Jackson, an English instructor at Nicholls State University, has been involved with writing and drama for 30 years.</p>